


Green, silver, and other signs of happiness

by dustiie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 18:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3702185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustiie/pseuds/dustiie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>#sickofgryffindorglorification #happinesforallhouses #peace</p></blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Petra sat with her hands clenched around her spoon and knife, listening to the dull drawl of her grandmother's useless words. Her phone buzzed in her lap, and it was always days like these that made her wish with all her might that she were back at Hogwarts. She certainly never heard this sort of useless trash when she sat at the Slytherin table.

Petra looked a lot like her grandmother had when she was young - or so everybody always said. Her freckles, maybe, peppered all over her nose and her cheeks. Maybe the colour of her lips. Maybe the big eyes and heavy lashes. Petra didn't mind looking like her grandmother. Except in moments like these. When her grandma tirelessly droned on and on about the terrible past of pure-blood elitists, and how grave it all was, and how it was 'absolutely imperative that those Slytherins were taught their place from very early on.'

Their blood status didn't matter. Though, for the record, Petra's great, great grandfather was a Muggle. Apparently that gave everybody the right to turn their noses up at pure-blood Slytherin families. Like Petra's family wasn't all about the same.

Petra's father was always quiet during these endless lectures. He wore a frown that creased his brow that was ever-so-Ravenclaw. (Even his salt-and-pepper hair made him seem more wise.) Petra always saw photos of her Dad in the blue and bronze. It suited his pale skin. Brought out his eyes. Something along those lines. Petra had heard those stories too many times before from her mother. Mother, who sat next to her father, her lips pressed into a thin line, as though she knew arguing with her mother-in-law would do nothing but set fire to the whole conversation.

Her mother, Abigail, Petra thought, was whom she resembled the most. She'd inherited her unruly curls. Her dark, rich hair. Her full lips. And her beautiful skin had mixed with her father's to give Petra some dark olive in-between tone.

Petra loved the way her parents' DNA had mixed within her. She imagined pure and muggle blood would mix the same, giving in-between tones of skills and wits in ways that were unmatchable by anybody else.

Petra's mum had been in Gryffindor. Scarlet and Gold were taken to a whole new meaning when Petra looked at her mother. Intelligent, but brave. Courageous and strong. Bold, but only when respectful. She tried to remind herself of that when the Gryffindors came sprinting down into the Great Hall, hollering and shoving each other about like a troop of baboons.  _  
_

Petra's older sister, Jemima, was also in Gryffindor, but she kept to herself and her friends. Though, she never really stood up for the Slytherins when the rest of her house came looking for trouble. In that sense, Petra thought, perhaps _she'd_ inherited her mother's Gryffindor bravery and courage.

Her phone buzzed again in her lap, and her eyes flashed down to the screen to see a monosyllabic word bright on her screen. That, and a red heart emoji.

" _Grandma_ ," She finally said, her raspy voice almost a groan. "Do we have to do this every term break?"

"You know, Petra, I was terrified they'd put you into that _atrocious_ house."

"They're not _all_ bad, Grandma."

There was a shocked gasp from her grandmother then. Something exaggerated enough to make Petra feel like she was being too bold. Too rude. And perhaps they  _should_ have put her in Gryffindor, but they didn't. "Next thing you know, you'll be joining them!" And that's when Petra could feel her sister's eyes boring into the side of her head. She did the sensible thing, then. Drop it, before it got worse. With her eyes to her food, she began twirling the spaghetti around her fork, around and around and around. Over and over until the screeching noise of metal on metal from her fork and her spoon were enough to drown the sounds of her grandmother still talking.

Of course, there was only one thing that could possibly be worst than being sorted into Slytherin.

 

And that,

Was dating one.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Jemima's voice was quiet and still. It was almost soothing. Being a year and a half apart, and because they looked quite similar, people always assumed she and Petra had twin-like personalities. Agreeable and compatible. They weren't always right. Jem liked to talk when Petra had her phone out. Petra did not. It was for this reason that they got onto the Hogwarts Express at different times. Petra, hurriedly saying goodbye to her parents with a kiss on the forehead each, and Jemima waiting with them until the last possible second. It was better this way, though, because then, Jem wouldn't be elbowing her and frowning when Petra changed her tie to a green and silver one. This was the second time she would do this, but her hands still shook as she wrapped the soft fabric around her neck. She looped it once to the left, once to the right, once over and finally through.

She was suddenly nervous again, as she slipped it slowly into place. Adjusted the collar of her shirt. Smoothed down the front of her robes and walked. down. the carriages. To the back of the train.

On Christmas day, last break, a fat owl had arrived with a manilla envelope clutched to its beak. It had tapped on Petra's window until she'd sullenly gotten out of bed and opened it for the bird to jump into the warmth of the house. It shook its body once, ridding its wings of any snowflakes, and took off without accepting payment for its delivery.

There hadn't been a note or any sort of parchment in the envelope, but the silver had jumped to Petra's vision before she'd even drawn it out of the package.

Today, it felt heavy around her neck. In a good way, like she imagined expensive jewellery would feel when it was first worn. No heads turned her way as she made her way down to the back of the train. But more and more people were getting on, and soon enough, too many people would recognise her, and the last thing she wanted was to waste another second on her way to the second to last carriage on the left.

 _Slow down_ , she told herself.  _It's only been a couple of months,_ but time had felt eternal, it always did when she wasn't at Hogwarts.

Before leaving her house this morning, her phone had buzzed one last time.

'See you soon,' It had said. A red heart, and a sparkles emoji.

'Can't wait.' A green heart. Then a yellow one.

Her steps echoed down the hall, and when she could finally see the back wall of the train, she counted her steps. 

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.

Six. Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

And the door slid open so smoothly. Almost as though she hadn't touched it.

Inside sat a boy. Messy blond hair. Bright eyes, some shade of light blue Petra couldn't quite place. He stared at her, his eyes wide in surprise before his face relaxed in recognition. Then a smile crossed his lips, and Petra was left unable to speak for a second.

That's when an arm grasped her elbow and pulled her back.

"I said  _left_ , Bambi."

With a step back, Petra pulled both hands in front of her, index and thumbs stretched out, her left hand forming a perfect L. "Oh, you mean  _that_ left." And with a gentle giggle, her eyes lifted once again to the ones she'd been waiting to meet. "How was the summer, Lou?"

"Hot, how was yours?" Lou was smaller than she was. Lou had short, thin brown hair and eyes that were as in-between of blue and green, as her own skin was between pale and dark.

"Oh, har-har!" Was the last sounds to make it out of her mouth before the door of their own compartment was slid shut, with Lou's small frame blocking the path out, and then they were alone again. There was a second of stretched-out silence. And in those seconds, Petra felt as though she had swallowed a whole packet of chewing gum and it had stuck to her throat. "Hi," She finally croaked, her voice breathless and stupid-sounding. 

"Hi." And Petra could never think of more perfect colours than green and silver, and nothing else that could make her happier but Lou's stupid grin, or the fact that she'd had Herbology with the Slytherins back in fourth year.

**Author's Note:**

> #sickofgryffindorglorification #happinesforallhouses #peace


End file.
